While to my ear Keith is MIA give a listen to Donna Jean's vocals. It is too bad she couldn't have stayed on with the band.(Jack Straw, Passenger)
The whole witch hunt against her is very lame. I enjoy her contribution to the band. As far as her songs go it was not her role to be a first tier songwriter/lead person for the band. But if you look at what she was doing in 1972 and compare it to 1978/79 she really stepped up her efforts.
Whereas as much as i like Keith from 1972 to 1977, his last two years with the band are rather unremarkable.
Be that as it may this is a pretty interesting show being the night before New Years. They seem pretty fired up. Sound is crisp, not a lot of wasted time between tunes.
They serve up so many tunes for this show!

I have got to figure out how to make a time machine work!

The Dead are ready. Mr. Charlie sold me so.

Added notes: - Lee Oskar is on OMSN as well]

[Per DeadBase Search done 2013-12-20]

- 1978-12-30 (Saturday Night)

- last St. Stephen: 01-22-78 [68]

- Passenger, Tennessee Jed - last of 3 (alone, together, that order)

- Miracle> Bertha> Good Lovin - 4th

- Playin> Shakedown> Drumz> Ollin Arageed> St. Stephen> NFA> GDTRFB> Around - only

[- Scarlet> Fire, Playin> Shakedown - only; - Playin> Shakedown - 2nd of 4; - St. Stephen> NFA> GDTRFB> Around - only; - St. Stephen> NFA> GDTRFB - last of 12; - NFA> GDTRFB> Around - 6th of 7]

Jack Straw and They Love Each Other and I am in awe of this lovely opening song-combo. But the planet this night belongs to the star with the guitar. Jerry brings such sweet hot swagger on Loser and Passenger. On Jed oh how he indeed rips my head a new one. By Mingle that guitar is ringin like a jingle bell from heavenly hell. Sugaree takes the long ride home to make a Sugar Jer Bear believer out of me. Like a million times before over the last 40 years before this kiss of bitchin bliss. I can't help tellin 'em all I know him. I cannot deny. How can I not when the promise of Promised Land is kept and brought back alive and well and living in the USA.


So the soundboard ain't always the cleanest ever seen or heard, but it'll more than do ya. And then the board ends before the end of Set 2 which has Ollin Arageed in it for what it's worth. This show is so worth it just for set 1, a first set for the ages. And after all it is only the first set. "So everybody hang loose."

...Love is all around & around us now, long distance runners on fire on the mountain, short distance lovers shaking on shakedown street, one for all and all for one more Saturday night's daybreak on the land...


OK. So "I've got no chance of losing this time." But still "I need a miracle everyday." Dear Mr. Fantasy, I don't believe in miracles. Even miraculous music like this cannot save us from old age and the grave. Till then I must if I can help myself and the world to know we just can't stop taking the cure for living that is dancing to the goddamn Grateful Dead.

"Once in a while you can get shown the light/ In the strangest of places if you look at it right..."

("Everybody polka now.") With Lee Oskar on sweet harmonica playing in the band for the last two winning numbers..."They never stopped rocking till the moon went down/ What a crazy sound."

You got that right. You gotta get right with that right you are. Live Dead is the craziest people!